2019 Reservation for Canada’s national parks to launch in January

Are you thinking about going to the Canadian Rockies or other Canada’s national parks? It’s time to start planning. Reservations will be available in January 2019 for visits between April 2019 and March 2020.

I had written about our experience with Parks Canada’s campground reservation when we visited the Canadian Rockies in 2017. For those who are looking to camp in the Canada’s national park campgrounds, early planning is essential as they are in high demands. If you haven’t previously read about our experience, you can read it here.

Parks Canada announced last week that 2019 reservations will be launched in January. For details, including the specific operating and reservable dates for the specific activity at each location, please visit their Reservation Service page.

Helen Lake, Banff National Park

Different Canada’s national parks have different operating period (called Operating Season) within which there are operating nights for which you can make a reservation (called Reservation Period). The operating nights in the early and the late seasons are usually not reservable. Keep in mind that dates differ from park to park. So, be sure to check the park website in the link above. For each park and each activity, please note their Reservable Period and Operating Season.

The “Reservable Period” refers to the nights for which you can make a reservation.

The “Operating Season” refers to the nights that the campground or hike is open for use. Sometimes campgrounds or hikes operate for longer than the period for which they accept reservations. Any dates of the “Operating Season” outside of the “Reservable Period” are the dates that it operates on a first come, first served basis only.

Sulphur Skyline Summit, Jasper National Park

Here are sample 2019 reservation launch dates and times for front-country campgrounds in the Rockies.

Jasper National Park: January 8, 2019 at 8 am MST

Banff National Park: January 9, 2019 at 8 am MST

Waterton Lakes National Park: January 10, 2019 at 8 am MST

Kootenay National Park: January 10, 2019 at 8 am MST

Yoho (Burgess Shale guided hikes): January 10, 2019 at 8 am MST

Yoho (Lake O’Hara day-use bus): April 23, 2019 at 8 am MST

Note: Mountain Standard Time (MST) is one hour ahead of the U.S. Pacific Standard Time.

Moraine Lake, Banff National Park

Going to Jasper National Park?

Please note that Whistlers Campground (Jasper’s largest campground) will be closed for reconstruction in 2019. Yup! You won’t be able to camp there during the 2019 Operating Season. This will make available camp sites in Jasper National Park even more limited. Folks planning to bring a large RV should check out Wapiti Campground as soon as possible.